duck box

i had forgotten to mention mason's favorite christmas present - a duck box. well, i don't really know what else to call it. it is a box with a duck face, wings, and tail painted on the outside. then when you open it up there is a little cube duck in a nest sitting inside. the duck doesn't make any noise or anything special other than push down a little. but mason loves it! oddly enough he likes to use it for chewing on (it isn't really very friendly for that because of its shape) and stops crying the moment he sees it. you never know what they will like.

i am so determined to have mason crawl that we have been working on it everyday and i won't let him even lay on his back. i really don't like the back scooting and it is making it so that he won't sit up without throwing himself backwards. it has also complicated diaper changes because he hops his butt whenever he is on his back. if i help him pick his hips up he will tuck his knees under and rock a little. he gets up on his knees all on his own when he is chewing on his duck box.

not having a schedule this week is really throwing me off, but i have been able to take care of some projects that i just haven't had time for. i got some space saver cube bags for christmas (i asked for them) and finally had the time to go through all of the girl clothes madelyn has outgrown because it is getting out of control. i was able to take 6 large storage bins down to two space saver bags that take up the space of only one storage bin! i am in love with the space saver bags! and i highly recommend them. after the success i had with madelyn's clothes i decided to also reduce down my maternity clothes too.

i was also happy that i went through madelyn's old clothes because while in storage a lot of them had developed some yellow stains! it must have been from spit up because they were all on the neck, chest, and sleeves of the shirts. i put them through the sanitary cycle on my washer and almost all of them came out. it was fun to look back at all of madelyn's old clothes and marvel at the sheer volume. that girl had more clothes in her first 6-months of life than i have probably had in the past 5 years.

anyway, i am trying to relax and enjoy my time off with the kids this week. madelyn keeps asking if i have to work because she is not used to having so much time with me during the day. it has been really nice to not to have to tell her to wait and play by herself.



we have also been out running errands. mason really likes being able to sit in the basket seat of the shopping cart where he can see more of what is going on around him. madelyn was really excited to go to sams where they could sit in the cart together. she was not that interested in having her picture taken but i was able to sneak a quick one while she was sampling some popcorn. love.